Faizan Zaki says he 'instantly recognized' winning word at the National Spelling Bee
13-year-old Faizan Zaki won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee, a year after coming in at second place. NBC News' Joe Fryer and Savannah Sellers spoke with Zaki about being the 2025 champion and the skills needed to win such a contest.
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NBC News
3 days ago
- NBC News
Faizan Zaki says he 'instantly recognized' winning word at the National Spelling Bee
13-year-old Faizan Zaki won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee, a year after coming in at second place. NBC News' Joe Fryer and Savannah Sellers spoke with Zaki about being the 2025 champion and the skills needed to win such a contest.
NBC News
3 days ago
- NBC News
Faizan Zaki wins Scripps National Spelling Bee, a year after coming in 2nd
"Éclaircissement" was the winning word, but for Faizan Zaki it spelled success. The 7th-grader from Dallas won the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday, after last year coming in second place on the big stage. Zaki showed little hesitation as he spelled éclaircissement, which means the clearing up of something obscure, in the final word to win the title of national spelling champ. Nine spellers made it to Thursday's final round, from Arizona, California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In that contest, there were just nine participants. How times have changed. This year, 243 young people competed in the Spelling Bee, which kicked off on Tuesday in National Harbor, Maryland. Those 243 young spellers made their way to the national competition after qualifying in regional contests in March. Almost all of the kids who made it to the nationals were there for the first time, organizers said. Fifty-three were in the 2024 national contest while 178 were national first-timers.
NBC News
6 days ago
- NBC News
Former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton charged with DUI in West Virginia
Former gymnast Mary Lou Retton was charged with driving under the influence in West Virginia earlier this month, according to records filed in the Magistrate Court of Marion County. According to court records, the legendary Olympic gymnast was arrested on May 17. It is not clear at this time what happened before her arrest. The Fairmont Police Department and Marion County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Retton, 57, posted a $1,500 bond, according to online records. NBC News reached out to a representative for Retton for comment. Retton became the first American woman to win an Olympic individual all-around gold when she edged out Romania's Ecaterina Szabo in the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. That golden moment cemented her fame as one of the country's most famous gymnasts. She was the first female athlete depicted on a Wheaties box. Last year, the former athlete said she faced "death in the eyes" while in intensive care in 2023 with a life-threatening bout of pneumonia. After leaving the hospital, she required the help of a nasal oxygen tube to breathe, and said she was dealing with ongoing health issues. Months later, Retton told NBC News that doctors "still don't know" exactly what illness is continuing to impact her lungs. "They're calling it a rare form of pneumonia," she said last year.
